#bastlore

[goddesstrolls]

"Deadsong" is one of the troll names for the goddess, and her history on Alternia is mostly forgotten. In many areas she once represented the grim reaper, the one who carries souls to the afterlife.

Her Hands have always been secretive, cult members who do their work in the shadows- Individuals play different roles, and not always ones as gentle as Arjenn's. Some, for example, don't just take those marked for death, but mass murderers and those who tamper with soul and life energy.

What is consistent, though, is that they always ferry souls through the ghost miasma and directly into the afterlife. The main problem on Alternia is that souls have a very hard time leaving it, and while the issue has long since become impossible for even Alternia's divine to fix, Deadsong still makes a concerted effort to put a dent in it.

[goddesstrolls]

Deadsong is a goddess of Death; She has her own sub-domain within Death's realm that is part of the 'afterlife'. Her domain is on the border between life and death, and is the first place that souls must travel through in order to reach Death and, potentially, Judgement.

There are souls who remain in her realm, but rarely for eternity- Because of the close proximity to the realm of life, the place feels comforting to some, a place where they can pretend for a moment that they are alive again. To others, it feels forlorn, a reminder of the life they cannot go back to.

Deadsong's Charons, her servants in the afterlife make an effort to comfort or appease these lingering souls, and guide those passing through.

The proximity to the realm of life is also what allows Deadsong her influence there, allowing her to recruit Hands who do her bidding in life, and then move on to serve her as a Charon, or serve Death directly as a Soulweaver. Her realm also has close proximity to the void, and her influence extends there as she seeks souls that have managed to lose themselves there.

Deadsong, additionally, is not specific to the troll afterlife, and was once living but not specifically mortal or a troll. She is not a Balance and her work is not 'necessary' but she does play an important part in expediting the delivery of the vast number of departed souls into the protection of the innermost areas of the afterlife.

[goddesstrolls]

There are a few things still significantly maintained by Her Imperatorial Conqueration’s influence, and chief among them is the Imperatorial or Imperial Record. This is what the Empire maintains as History, and nothing else should  even be presented or discussed as relevant and true.

The Record is a collection of legitimate historical record from across Alternia and has not been rewritten or tampered with. (Read: Everything was parsed and rewritten by Conqueration’s historians and the original documents destroyed. Also, a lot was just outright destroyed.)

This history is heavily enforced in schools, public libraries, and other places of learning to ‘maintain clarity’ on what is supposedly true.

For example, the Record maintains that Conqueration slaughtered every fuchsia during their conquest of Alternia, and that every fuchsia alive now is Xer direct descendant. (Untrue, but Xey did certainly fucking try.)

[goddesstrolls]

Symbols for The Grey Ward (working title), Chel's cavern :>

[goddesstrolls]

Garo village residents aren't confined to the village, but you see. The problem is that it's really difficult for a non-warrior to leave.

There used to be a huge road leading up to the entrance, magically supported, so it could be retracted if an enemy army was approaching. It's long since collapsed, so the only way is to climb, and unless you're a warrior trained to very easily climb these fucking cliffs, you're going to have a bad time.

[goddesstrolls]

What sort of characters would you enjoy having in Ikana Valley?

Pretty much anyone who'd be at home in a traditional (read: no electricity, internet) village setting.

The villagers take care not to lose sight of their duty, which is to preserve the Tanikar way of life. They don't even really have access to materials from outside of Ikana Valley anyway and, in fact, have access to less than the average Tanikarite did because there was stuff being imported into Tanikar.

For craftsperson roles, you'd have people making ceramics for everyday use. Weavers collecting silkworm cocoons, deer fur, and plant fibers for cloth. Making dye out of insects, plants, and stones (like lapis lazuli) available in the caverns. Stone carvers who'd be the primary builders of the caverns, repairing or replacing damaged structures and statues and carvings within the village or the abandoned kingdom.

Then for food-providers you'd have the fishermen who'd primarily breed and take care of the fish living in the subterrean lakes and rivers and making sure the water is clean and everything is healthy, since that's also everyone's drinking water. Farmers who'd grow crops which had been bred to grow in the underground conditions- Rice, tubers, fruits, tea.

Some people had no particular role or weren't specially trained, like you'd have guards that only had some combat training rather than the full warrior training like Okahni.

The Garo have no currency and, at most, trade. Things like fine jewelry would usually be given by the craftsperson as a gift OR given by the village elders for, usually, things like contributing to the village's duty by excelling in a traditional skill or other exemplary behavior. Food is also given out similarly; If one person had excess they'd give it to their neighbor or someone they knew might not have a steady supply of food. One fish might be passed through multiple people's hands before it's eaten because it wasn't needed that night.

The caverns have an extensive ecosystem of unique plants, animals, and insects, which all have developed to feed off the heightened magic within the caverns. A lot of things (esp crops) were brought in from outside during the earlier nights of Tanikar, like the deer aren't native but have evolved into a unique species.

I'm gonna stop myself here before I get too into it =w=' I'll have to write a formal info doc and try not to get too caught up in the details

[goddesstrolls]

Thinkin' bout magic.

Primal magic is a cosmic energy harnessed by gods; The Balances ([REDACTED], Wildking, Ruin, Life, Death) exemplify and manipulate this magic.

Trolls harness arcane magic, a form of magic wherein primal magic is processed by a source- The earth, the moon, living things- And subsequently 'tamed'. It's much more versatile than primal magic and very few things can harness the latter.

Nasire is one of the first mages to harness magic, and his magic sits on the threshold of primal and arcane. He is nearly a Balance, except the element he exemplifies is Arcane fire; Pyromancy. Controlled, tempered, powerful. He willingly fetters his power because it's just not needed anymore. The world is tame and a portion of his ability is pretty much all that's needed to handle anything combat-wise.

[goddesstrolls]

Missah can’t do anything about Adjire, because:

- As far 98% of the other members are concerned, she is just a bartender

- It’s well-known that Lloric and her are/were A Thing, and it would just look like she were favoring Lloric

- This is why she hasn’t offered / Lloric refuses to accept anything from her. On top of that, he doesn’t even know she has much connection with the Numbers. He also thinks she’s just a bartender under the Fangs’ protection as a mutant.

- Adjire just vanishing and getting replaced by someone else is incredibly suspicious, and there’s no one else in a position close enough to usurp him. Violence among members is also strictly forbidden, and that includes making problematic members disappear.

- Adjire does pay out; He just only pays his ‘friends’ well. Getting rid of him and changing up the distribution of wealth just comes up as ugly business. It’s an unpopular move for a select few and the majority don’t care either way.